


Kitty Cat Cafe

by Katergator



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: But Also Some Angst, F/M, Modern AU, barista!Astrid, but I make it better I promise, coffee shop AU, construction worker!Hiccup, featuring a cafe with adoptable cats, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 02:43:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17820272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katergator/pseuds/Katergator
Summary: Astrid works at a cafe that features adoptable cats the patrons can interact with. From an abusive home, Toothless seems to be a lost cause, especially with male customers. Then one day a handsome stranger walks in, befriends Toothless, and steals her heart in the process.





	Kitty Cat Cafe

**Author's Note:**

> Another of my tumblr prompts, specifically for a cat coffee shop AU. It's some pretty cute fluff, until I get a little angsty on you. But I always make it better, promise ;)

Astrid sighed, dreamy expression on her face and chin in her hand as she leaned over the countertop.

He was in here again, curled up in his favorite armchair by the window. The late afternoon sun slanted through, shrouding his glorious auburn hair in a brilliant halo as dust particles shimmered in the air.

His laptop sat on his crossed legs as he clicked away, Astrid assumed on some homework assignment, and his favorite cat draped over his shoulders in his usual spot. Contented purrs were audible even from her place behind the counter.

Astrid was pleased Toothless had found his person and even more pleased it happened to be  _him_. She had a vested interest in Toothless’s wellbeing, because she selected him from the shelter on an accompanied run with the owner to pick up more cats for the Kitty Cat Cafe.

It was quite an ingenious business model, really. Combining coffee and cats, where people could come and study for class or sit and enjoy the company of a feline companion without the responsibilities of ownership. If a patron happened to bond with one of the animals, all were adoptable.

So, when Gina offered to let Astrid come with to the shelter, she eagerly accepted. Toothless was last on the row, newly brought in, and something about his bright green eyes captured her. The volunteers warned that he was a rescue from an abusive home and skittish of men, but her heart went out to the cat.

His first week at the cafe went well enough, though he blended into shadows and corners, only coming out for food. True to the shelter’s word, Toothless generally hid when men were around and Astrid feared he might never adjust.

Then one day,  _he_  came in.

It was slow, there were only two other patrons in the cafe at the time, both women. Astrid was loving up Toothless with pets and purrs on the counter near the till.

He approached, catching her eyes with a warm smile, and the heat spread from her cheeks down into the bottom of her belly. It was like he tugged an invisible string around her heart, one she didn’t even know existed until it attached itself to this handsome stranger.

Toothless’s purrs immediately ceased and his body tensed, primed to flee off the counter. Astrid curled her arm around his ribs and soothed, hoping she could help acclimate the cat to their male patrons.

“Hello,” she greeted, holding onto Toothless. “What can I get you?”

“What do you recommend? I haven’t been here before.”

“Um, well I like the- Toothless, shhh it’s okay buddy, see? Come on…” she said, trying to hold onto the squirming cat.

“Aww, is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s alright. He was rescued from a bad home and he’s scared of men,” she explained sympathetically.

Handsome Stranger frowned. “I  _hate_  people like that. How could anyone mistreat an animal? It’s  _terrible_.”  

“Oh, I agree,” she said, nodding vigorously. “Look what it’s done to this poor little guy. He’s super sweet, but he needs special care and it’s just so sad.”

She managed to get Toothless to stop wiggling and held him on the counter. He watched her customer warily, waiting for any sign of threat.

“Hey buddy, it’s okay, see? I’m not going to hurt you.” He bent down to the cat’s level and held out an upward facing palm. Toothless glanced at the proffered hand, then back up at his face.

“Honestly this is the closest he’s let a man get to him.” She ran her hands along Toothless’s sleek fur with encouraging strokes.

Handsome Stranger didn’t move his hand and let Toothless slowly come to him, sniffing his fingers.

“Yeah, see? You’re alright now, bud. Nothing bad’s gonna happen to you anymore.” He didn’t attempt to pet him, just remained still and let the cat carefully check him out.

“This is amazing, he’s never done this well,” Astrid said, petting Toothless along the back and up his shortened tail, making his butt rise up in the air.

“Well I’m flattered,” Handsome Stranger said, flashing her an easy grin. That invisible string tightened with a sharp tug.

Toothless decided he had sniffed enough to be satisfied and rubbed his head into Handsome Stranger’s palm.

“Oh my goodness, look! He wants you to pet him!” Astrid said excitedly.

“Aww, yeah you do,” he said, starting slow and giving Toothless a little scratch behind the ear. The cat melted into his touch, a pleased look on his kitty face.

“Wow,” Astrid said in disbelief. “He’s never done this. He must really like you! Want to adopt a cat?”

He laughed. “I’d love to adopt a cat, but I live in the dorms, so no furry felines for me.”

“Aww, well I tried, Toothless,” she teased. “So, I’m assuming you mostly came here for coffee and free wifi. What can I get you today?”

He looked back up at the menu again and Astrid took a moment to bask in his lovely features. She smiled brightly at him when they locked gazes and her heart skipped a beat.

“You know, I guess I’ll just get a hazelnut latte.”

She tapped it into the register. “And the name?”

“Hiccup.”

_And your number?_

She wished she had the courage.

“I’ll call your name when it’s ready,” she said, shrugging a shoulder with a coy smile. She added an extra swing in her sashay over to the machines to get his order started, the apron strings tied at her lower back swaying with her walk. 

She really shouldn’t flirt with customers… but he was the most gorgeous person she had ever seen come through the doors and she couldn’t help herself.

She kept stealing glances at him, warmth rising to her cheeks and flutters in her stomach when she’d catch him stealing glances right back at her. He’d avert his eyes and pretend to pick through the merchandise on the stands.

She leaned over the countertop with his completed drink, probably giving him a view down the front of her apron, oops.

“Hiccup?”

He stepped up and claimed the drink from her with a charming grin and a nod. After surveying the room for a seat, he chose a black worn-in leather armchair, in which he sank more than sat. He pulled out a laptop from his canvas messenger bag. Toothless casually followed him to his seat, hopping up onto the armrest. He respected the cat’s boundaries, only reaching over to pet him once in awhile, which Toothless accepted.

Ridiculously handsome  _and_  good with animals?  _Check_.

He studied for an hour and a half, and Astrid found it difficult to keep her attention on her work and not on him the entire time. He gave her another smile and a wave when he left, which she kept replaying in her head for the rest of the night.

Astrid was pleasantly surprised when he came in again the next day.

“Back for more?” she flirted, wiping her hands on a towel.

“Of course, how could I resist this little guy?” he said, smiling as Toothless wound himself around his legs.

“What can I get you?”

“Same as yesterday?”

“Coming right up,” she winked.

To her delight, his appearance in her cafe became routine. Through their conversations, she learned little pieces of information that she filed away to someday complete a whole picture of him. Toothless continued to warm up to him as well, moving from the arm of the chair to settling in his lap, rolling on the keyboard of his laptop, or overseeing his work from the back of the armchair, which eventually turned into draping around his neck like an absurd animal fur scarf.

Astrid had to admit she was jealous of a cat. Though it was inspiring to witness the healing of a broken animal in action, Toothless could lay himself all over Hiccup in any manner he liked, while she resigned herself to subtle flirting, witty banter, and serving him coffee with a meaningful grin.

Heather and Ruff had taken to teasing her, fanning the flames of her not so secret crush because she refused to do anything about it other than gaze at him while he studied, catching his eye and trading covert smiles.

She shouldn’t stare… ogling anyone while they were trying to study for school wasn’t polite but she couldn’t focus on anything else, especially when he was looking particularly handsome today.

Heather walked behind her, bumping her hip into Astrid’s.

“You should just ask for his number, you know,” she said, amused.

Astrid straightened up, pretending to look busy. “What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, right, because you haven’t been staring at him for the past fifteen minutes.”

“Uh, excuse me, I stare at all the customers like that,” Astrid joked, a flush rising to her cheeks.

“Uh huh,” Heather said, unconvinced. “Except you don’t because that would be weird. Are we pretending you don’t have the total hots for him now?”

“Oooh, are you teasing Astrid about the hot guy again?” Ruff said, peeking out from the back room. “I want in. Why haven’t you locked that down yet?”

“Oh my God, stop it!” Astrid hissed under her breath, waving the two of them off. “He’s right over there you know, he can probably hear you!”

“Good. Maybe he’ll figure out how badly you want to jump his bones,” Ruff giggled, and Astrid shoved her into the back room.

She took her place at the till again, shaking her head at Heather.

Stormfly jumped up onto the counter and rubbed against Astrid’s arm. “Hey, girl. At least you’re not heckling me about boys.”

“ _Cute_  boys,” Heather input.

Astrid rolled her eyes with a grin. She picked up Stormfly and sprayed some whipped cream for her in a coffee lid.

Her coworkers could tease her all they liked, but it wasn’t that simple to her. He was a patron and she couldn’t just go around hitting on customers. It was bad enough she had his whole schedule memorized, what classes he was taking on each day of the week and when he’d stop by after them, and which days he worked on site with his father’s contracting business.

Ruff always liked those days, because he would come in wearing his work clothes. She claimed the rugged jeans, steel-toed boots, dirty t-shirts, and work gloves stuffed into his back pocket were the biggest turn on.

Astrid tended to agree. Once he came in with his hard hat still on and her knees went weak when he stepped up to the counter and ordered his usual. His freckles somehow stood out under the rim of the bright yellow plastic and she found it difficult to look him in the eyes without blushing.

Heather said he could wear anything he liked- (“ _especially nothing, heyo!”_ according to Ruff) and he’d still be wildly attractive.

Today was his day off, so he was here in his casual clothing, a gray pull over hooded sweatshirt, dark wash jeans and black hightop Converses.

“You’re staring again,” Heather whispered.

“Hmm?” Astrid said, distracted.

“Right,” Heather laughed, grabbing a broom to start sweeping.

Astrid startled and hastily rearranged the items for sale on the counter when Hiccup set aside his laptop and approached with his empty coffee cup.

“Nice scarf,” she teased.

“Thanks,” he said with an easy grin, patting Toothless on the butt. “It was all the rage on the  _cat_ walk in Milan.”

“Mm, that was a horrible pun.”

“Was it? I thought it was a good one.”

“Low hanging fruit, I know your wit is sharper than that,” she teased, taking his cup and making him another coffee.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you’re only a fan of highbrow humor. I will tailor my jokes accordingly next time.”

“I only want your best,” she smirked at him, then glanced back at the frother as she steamed the milk for his latte. “So, when are you going to adopt Toothless? You’re his favorite person, you know.”

“Ah, I wish I could adopt him, but sadly the RA would start to question why I have a furry little lawn mower in my dorm room. No cats allowed, only beta fish. Their litter boxes are so much easier to clean up after, you see.”

She laughed and set the fresh cup down on the counter. “Well, it’s such a shame. He mopes around and hides all day until you come in.”

“He’s not getting any better with that?” He ceased with the teasing, true concern in his voice.

Astrid frowned sadly at the sleek black cat, missing the tip of his tail. “Somewhat… but you’ve been the best thing for him. He likes Stormfly, and he’s warmed up to me and the girls, but otherwise men especially scare him. I don’t know what happened to him before the shelter adopted him out to us, but it’s clear that, well…”

He put his hand up and stroked Toothless along the back. “Yeah. Well he’s got a buddy now.”

She smiled adoringly at the two of them. “He does indeed. That’ll be three ninety two.”

“What? Haven’t I flirted enough to get free coffee yet?”

Astrid blushed scarlet, flustered. “Oh! Um…”

“I’m kidding,” he said, digging his wallet out of his pocket. “There you go, always taking my money.”

“I’m happy to take your money anytime,” she sassed, attempting to recover.

“Really? Well maybe you’d-…”

He cut off as another person joined the line, clearly in a hurry. Instead of finishing his sentence, he gave her a charming grin and a salute. “Well, I should get back to studying I suppose, and you need to get back to your coffee beans and whipped cream. ‘Till next time.”

He sauntered back to his seat and Astrid followed him with her eyes, horribly frustrated. What was he about to say?!

“He is sointo yooou!” Heather sang as she walked past.

Astrid attempted to smack her surreptitiously as the next person stepped up to the counter. She put on the fakest smile she could possibly muster at the customer whom she was entirely certain had just cock blocked a potential date.

Hoping they would get the chance to talk again, Astrid was nervous and excited for their interaction on her next shift. She put on her apron and spent the first two hours on autopilot, anxiously watching the clock and waiting for his usual appearance.

Except, he didn’t come.

His last class was at 4:35 pm on Tuesday evenings. He always got his hazelnut latte and sometimes he would get a grilled cheese sandwich. Toothless perched in the window like a silent sentinel waiting to see his favorite person come through the door.

He never showed.

So one day was a fluke. It was disappointing, but Astrid figured he had extenuating plans and he would be back on Wednesday at 5:00 pm on the dot, ready to order his coffee and a panini, with a cup of water on the side because sometimes he would get thirsty and coffee didn’t quench his thirst.

She really began to worry on Thursday. At the end of her shift, Toothless was positively agitated, echoing her own mood. Every time the bell on the door rang she and Toothless would rush to see if it was him, only to suffer disappointment. 

She started her shift on Friday in a bad mood. Toothless hid under the counter at her feet.

“Wow, you’re cranky today,” Ruff observed.

“I’m not cranky,” Astrid said, clearly miffed.

“Right. Loverboy hasn’t come to flirt with you over the pretense of coffee in a few days, is that it?”

“That’s not it!” Astrid said stubbornly. She fiddled with the towel on the bar. “I’m… worried. What if something happened to him?”

“Maybe he went on vacation or something?” Ruff shrugged. “There’s a ton of different reasons why someone wouldn’t make a coffee shop stop their priority, Astrid.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s just… he’s been in here on schedule for the past few weeks, and then to just suddenly miss several days in a row? Something’s wrong.”

“Hmm. Well, you know how you could’ve found out?” Ruff said.

“What? How?”

“You could’ve texted him to ask where he’s been, if only you had  _gotten his number_.”

Astrid flicked the towel at Ruff. “You’re not helpful in the slightest!”

Another week passed. Astrid’s heart felt like it was being pummeled each shift she worked. A swell of hope welled in her chest at every ding of the bell, only to plummet into a pit of disappointment when it wasn’t him walking through the door.

She felt awful for Toothless. The poor cat was beside himself, waiting at the window every day, meowing when they locked up for the night. She considered taking him back to her apartment just so he wouldn’t be alone.

Every day that passed became harder to keep the smile on her face. His presence had integrated into her daily landscape, and the sad faces of her coworkers weren’t much consolation as they tried to take her mind off things.

Toothless clung to her every shift; she supposed he needed a replacement source of comfort. His skittish behavior backslid and he stayed behind the counter almost exclusively, no longer staring out the window.

She tried not to get angry. How dare he show up and steal her heart with his witty jokes, flirting like that, looking handsome in his work gear or his beat up old Converses. How dare he bond with Toothless only to vanish just when the cat started to trust. Didn’t he know how much Toothless needed him?

She glanced at the cat tower where Toothless curled up with Stormfly. She could handle the disappointment. There would always be other cute boys… maybe not ones with such sharp wit, effortlessly messy hair, the perfect amount of freckles smattering his cheeks, or those gorgeous green eyes-

-but for Toothless, there was no replacement, there was no explaining why his favorite person had seemingly abandoned him.

At three weeks she thought about the tongue lashing she’d give him if he ever showed up again. How he had worried every single worker in the cafe and sent a cat into utter depression.

She gave up at the four week mark. He must have decided to frequent someplace else, moved on with his life and his routine. Maybe the concern he showed for Toothless wasn’t sincere. Maybe all his flirting had been empty, something for him to pass the time, and she had fallen for it.

Angry hot tears stung at her eyes as she held them back while mechanically making coffee for the line of patrons. She wanted to quit, she hated coming to work and having to fake her entire mood while there. He stole a piece of her and she didn’t realize it was gone until it went with him, wherever he was.

The only reason she hung on was for Toothless and Stormfly. The two cats seemed to depend on her and she couldn’t just leave them, unlike  _someone else_.

Astrid sighed as the first few snowflakes of the winter season floated to the ground. It was overcast with a slate gray sky and the clouds threatened more snow to come. She wasn’t the biggest fan of winter, but admittedly the snow was kind of pretty. If only she could enjoy it.

She was bitter at having fallen so deeply for a relative stranger. She knew he was majoring in architecture, knew his schedule, and only the bits and pieces of himself he shared with her. Sometimes on campus she’d purposely cut through the building where his classes were, hoping she might run into him. It was desperate and she hated herself for it, but she never saw him.

So, as the snow floated to the ground in big soft flakes, she told herself to let it go. The spark they had must have meant more to her than it did to him, and that was life sometimes. It hurt, but it was time to move on.

She was serving a patron at the counter, spraying whipped cream on the top of a latte when the bell on the door rang, indicating another customer had entered. Her instinct told her to look, but she fought it and continued on with her work.

She came back to the till with the coffee and dully repeated the total. Money was exchanged and she shut the drawer. She glanced up to meet the eye of the next in line.

Her heart stopped.

It was him. His hands were hidden in the pockets of a black jacket, green scarf wrapped around his neck, and a gray knitted hat over that gloriously messy hair.

She was struck speechless. All the things she wanted to say, all the anger and heartbreak she wanted to pour out at him, even just to ask him where he had been for the past month, gone. All higher thought processes had fled her brain.

“Hey,” he said softly, one corner of his lips lifting in a sad half smile.

It was then she noticed his face. How pale and gaunt he looked. How thin his body appeared under that coat. Worn down and overall unwell.

Words finally surfaced to her tongue. “Where have you  _been_? I’ve been worried  _sick_  about you!”

 _Damn_  the tears. She blinked them back furiously, determined not to cry.

“Yeah, about that. I’m sorry,” he sighed, noticeable weariness in his voice as he scratched the back of his head. “Um… do you have a moment? I can… explain.”

Heather and Ruff were watching from the back room door. Heather hurried out and shooed Astrid. “I’ve got the counter. Go.”

Astrid walked around the end of the front counter and Toothless came scampering under her feet, almost tripping her in the process.

“Toothless!” he cried happily, scooping up the cat and burying his face into the soft fur.

“He missed you so much,” she said meaningfully.

“I missed my little bud too.” He hugged the cat and draped him over his shoulders like he hadn’t missed a month’s worth of days in between.

“So where have you been?”

His face fell and he motioned for her to follow him to his favorite spot.

Immediately she noticed the lurch in his step, the slow awkward way he moved. Her hands fluttered about him, but she wasn’t sure he wanted help, so she kept them to herself as he settled into the recliner. She pulled up a wooden chair from one of the tables and sat in front of him.

“What happened, I’ve been so worried. Something’s wrong, I  _knew_  something was wrong.”

He lowered his eyes, the despaired look on his face in direct contrast to the purring contented cat on his shoulders.

“There was an accident.”

“Oh no. Like, a car accident?”

“No, on one of the construction sites I was overseeing. A crane malfunctioned and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or… well the right place at the wrong time, if you want to look at it that way. I could’ve been crushed to death, but luckily I managed to get out of the way, at least, kind of. A load of steel beams dropped and one caught my left foot.”

“So, are you okay? I’m assuming you were healing this entire time then?”

“In a sense,” he said, exhausted. He knocked on his left shin. “They couldn’t save it.”

“Oh my God,” Astrid said, her hands flinging up to cover her mouth. Every stray thought and accusation against his character she had the past month filled her with deep remorse and shame. “I’m so sorry, I am so…  _so_  sorry? I- oh my  _God_ -”

“Yeah, I, I know. Don’t worry, not your fault, of course. It is what it is.”

“How- I mean, are you… adjusting? What about school? What about- I’m sorry, I don’t want to pry.”

“It’s okay. I’m… adjusting, though I guess that’s a work in progress, really. It was definitely a shock, but… I’m getting there. It’s a learning curve, for sure.”

“Oh yeah, for sure,” Astrid nodded sympathetically.

“Dad always wanted me to take over as foreman for him, but I was more interested in designing buildings than getting my hands dirty constructing them. I guess this was a sign,” he joked ruefully.

“It didn’t have to be so drastic,” she said.

“I always did have a flair for the dramatic,” he sighed.

“So what now, are you still recovering? Are you going back to school?”

“Still recovering, as you can see. I’m getting better walking with the prosthetic, but it’s slow going. Painful, you know.”

“Oh yes, of course,” she said, clasping her hands. “I can’t even imagine.”

“I’m going to start going back to class next week, I think.”

“Next week huh… so what brought you in here?”

“I hope you don’t mind, but I came to adopt Toothless,” he said sheepishly.

Her face lit up. “You’re taking Toothless home?”

He nodded. “I thought about… him… every single day,” he said honestly.

She wondered at that little pause. “Well he thought about you every single day too. Not to make you feel bad, but I’ve never seen an animal more depressed than that cat.”

“Good to know my little bud missed me too,” he smiled, giving Toothless another pat. His purrs intensified, like he knew they were talking about him.

“So is your RA going to make an exception for your new furry roommate then?”

He frowned sadly. “Nah, I moved out of the dorms and back home, for the time being. So I figured, Toothless should finally come home with me.”

“I’m sure he will love it. As long as you bring him back to visit me and Stormfly every once in awhile.”

“Will do,” he promised.

There was a small pause, like there was something he wanted to say but wasn’t sure how.

“So, was it just Toothless you came in for?” she asked lightly, heart pounding nervously.

He laughed. “You didn’t think I came here practically every day just for the cat alone, did you? Because getting my coffee prepared by a certain beautiful blonde barista was a perk too.”

She blushed at his comment and placed a flustered hand on her cheek.

“For real though, I thought I’d let you know I was okay, in case you were wondering where I went.”

“Oh I did wonder. You had me very worried.”

“Ah, well I’m here now, or well you know,  _most_ of me, anyway.”

“Glad to see your sense of humor made it out okay,” she said flatly.

“That’s right, highbrow, highbrow. Gotta work on that,” he smiled.

“Here,” she said, fumbling and searching the pockets of her apron. “I want to give you my phone number, so this doesn’t happen again. And if you want, you could give me yours?”

“Yeah?” His eyes lit up, hopeful, the most sparkle she had seen in them since he walked in.

“Of course,” she said. “You’re not putting me through something like this again.”

“I came here to get Toothless, but I’ll accept a number too. I definitely wasn’t expecting it though…”

“Why not?” she asked, tapping her number into his phone contacts.

“Ah, well you know,” he said awkwardly. “People, well, some people treat me differently now, thanks to, you know…” he tapped his left foot on the floor.

She rolled her eyes. “People are dumb. I mean, yeah it happened, and you’re going to have a lot of emotions and things to work through, but you’re going to need support most of all.” She saved her entry. “Did you put yours in mine?”

He nodded, handing her phone back to her.

“Good,” she said, holding her phone to her chest.

“Hey, ah… you know, thanks for being… so cool about this,” he said, unable to meet her eyes.

She grinned. “Silly. Don’t you remember my major?”

He looked back up, confused. “I forget, I’m sorry.”

“I’m going for physical therapy. I’ll be working with lots of injured people, maybe some in your same situation.”

“Oh… yeah?”

“Mmhm,” she nodded. “So don’t you worry about me, I can help out with anything you need.”

She looked back at the counter, where the line was growing. Heather and Ruff needed help.

“I’ve got to get back to work. Maybe we can set up a date?”

A grin broke out onto his face. “A… date?”

“You know what a date is, right? When two people-”

“Ha ha. I know what a date is, Astrid.”

“Good. Then take me on one,” she said smartly. “Do you want the usual, while I’m back there?”

“Sure.”

“Sounds good. I’ll make it on the house, all your flirting finally earned you free coffee.”

“Yes,” he said, pumping his fist. “I knew if I tried hard enough it would work.”

She laughed, swinging her hips happily as she went to help out Heather and Ruff.

The three girls made quick work of the line, and once the counter was clear Astrid brought him his cup of coffee. She set it on the side table and he smiled up at her.

Before she lost the courage, she leaned over and pecked him on the cheek.

He blushed at her display of affection, but caught her hand before she could pull away and quick kissed her on the lips.


End file.
